Part 5

Sorry about the short update, gents, but what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in crazed biologists. Also, while Viddler still refuses to accept my MP4 goodness, blip.tv allows you to download it, under the HD option! Grand.



Welcome back to the Medical Deck! The men and women of the Ishimura have much to teach us about healthcare reform.

Viddler (Polsy), Blip.tv


Mission Objectives

Note that Isaac makes no mention of the shambling, regenerating horror that stalks him throughout the level. He knows where his priorities are.


New Characters



Dr. Challus Mercer. One of Kyne's employees and peers. A devout Unitologist, he seems to have become completely overwhelmed by religious fervor, and has started mutilating and experimenting upon his fellow crew members. This results in the creation of the Hunter. He's convinced that the Necromorph infection is the next stage in human existence, and hopes to expand its effects.


Trivia

* In Dr. Mercer's office, there's a book marked "Galaxy-Class Surgical Procedures." If I were to hazard a guess, it's a Star Trek reference - the Enterprise-D, from The Next Generation, is a Galaxy-class ship.
* Another book in Mercer's office, "Field Medicine", bares the same logo as Isaac's military suit. It's probably a military-issue reference book.
* It seems possible that the Hunter is actually derived from Harris, the murderer brought up from the planet. After all, Mercer referred to the possibility of experimenting on "that prisoner from the colony". That said, Mercer's "patient" yells about his wife. I don't think Harris was married. The world may never know the true identity of the poor victim.
* The Hunter is a unique enemy. Unlike all other Necromorphs, it's the product of human experiments in regeneration and surgical exposure to alien tissue. Interestingly, Mercer chose to insert the material into the brain, probably trying to mimic the behaviour of a typical Infector.
* The behavior of the Hunter is reminiscent of the Nemesis, from Resident Evil 3. Both chase the player throughout the area, and can be defeated with environmental attacks.
* Dr. Challus Mercer is played by Navid Negahban, who has appeared in NCIS, Sleeper Cell, Alias, Criminal Minds, Homeland Security, and the soon-to-be-released horror film, Dead Air. Poor guy kinda gets typecast a lot.
* We have now picked up all the usable weapons in the game!


Continuity Issues

Well, this chapter, there are...what? None? Fuck that, I'm going to be a picky asshole.

* How exactly did Mercer get from one end of the Medical Deck to the other ahead of Isaac? There are no hallways linking the rooms. The only way is the path that Isaac took, unless he was climbing through the vents. And on that note...
* How the hell did Mercer avoid getting sliced and diced by Necros? Unless he's got some kind of hypnosis that works solely against the undead, he should have been annihilated before leaving the ER. Which leads into...
* How did he even leave the ER?! He turned and walked into an empty corner. The door didn't open while we were watching. And it locked as soon as we went in!
* Mercer's experimentation drives another nail into Downfall's coffin. It doesn't make any sense that Mercer would capture a "subject", create a usable mutagen, and cultivate the Hunter within the seven-hour limit that the movie imposed. Even Temple's two-day limit is a bit of a stretch.

...okay, that's enough of that...


New Enemies

Guardians
The Necromorph equivalent of a stationary turret. Glued to the wall by alien biomass, they spit out pods capable of firing projectiles at you. Guardians have a set of thin tentacles connecting the center of their torso to the wall around them; take these out, and it dies. Alternately, explosive canisters or mines can be used to take them out quickly, without using lots of ammo. That said, canisters can be hard to come by.

The Hunter
The "child" of the deranged Dr. Challus Mercer, the Hunter is a combination of human research into rapid healing and a direct exposure to Necromorph tissue. Basically looks like a tall, skeletal Slasher, with inverted scythes and glowing eyes. It can survive pretty much everything, regenerating severed extremities within seconds. While audio logs suggest that it was once human, possibly a prisoner from the Aegis colony, its true identity will remain forever unknown.


New Equipment

C99 Supercollider Contact Beam
Energy cannon made for tenderizing heavy ore. It can blast through just about everything. Except static geometry, of course.

Primary fire: energy blast. Needs to be charged up before firing. Good against stationary or slow targets.
Secondary fire: short-range area effect blast, fired from the feet.

Upgrade diagram.


Force Gun
A space-age jackhammer, with effects not unlike a shotgun. Except it doesn't have shells. Or slugs. Or pellets. Never mind, maybe it's not that much like a shotgun.

Primary fire: large blast of energy in a short range. Excellent for small, weak enemies with unpredictable movements.
Secondary fire: grenade, triggered by proximity or after a set time.

Upgrade diagram will be going up soon. Slight delay, sorry.


New Clues
* Mercer's "patient" is probably a prisoner from the colony, married, held against his will.
* Hammond claims that he is "seeing things".
* The pollutant in Hydroponics is a single, distinct organism - the Leviathan.
* According to Mercer, Kyne was having visions of his late wife, and studying the Marker constantly.
* Mercer believes that conversion into Necromorphs is humanity's ideal future, and wants to move them to populated areas to speed up the process.


Bonus Stuff
"Dear Lord! Nurse, we're losing him!" "John... he's just goo on a table." "HE'S STILL MY PATIENT, GOD DAMMIT!"
...okay, this aspect of organ transplantation is even more gross than the tanks full of babies.
So, what's Military-Isaac been doing off-screen? ...bathing in gore, it would seem...

Altman be praised! It's the Unitologist crest from Mercer's office!

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